If you live in an area where chemicals or high humidity is present do yourself a favor and look at your tank straps. The truck was originally from Montana and I have no idea what if anything they use out there. We found the truck at a dealership south of Pittsburgh. We have had the truck for 4 years now. We try to not drive it in the snow and the truck had a fair amount of corrosion under it when we got it. We went to the lumber store just after we filled the tank and upon coming out to load up our purchase I noticed something was hanging low on the truck. Front fuel tank strap just let go. Ordered new straps from Tousley ford:
Part #YC3Z-9054-DA - $37.70
Part #F81Z-9054-D - $35.77
I had them in three days, as it is not our DD I had time to prep and paint these.

Items required:
Lacquer Thinner to wipe the oil and contaminates off the springs
Self etching primer to primer the straps
Paint to paint the straps
PB blaster to aid in bolt removal
13mm socket to remove bolts
socket extensions (I used a 6" and a 12")
air impact gun
socket wrench to re-assemble
jack to support tank
plywood or 2x4 to give ample support to tank when jacking
glasses (falling rust / debris)

Note: Soak bolts heavily a day or two in advance with PB blaster if in salted areas, soak bolts again 10 minutes before starting project

1) Straps come unpainted with plastic guards, remove plastic guards and wipe down all surfaces with lacquer thinner to remove oil / contaminates.
2) Primer tank straps
3) Paint tank straps
4) Re-install plastic guards
5) Support tank with jack and wood (front or rear depending on which strap you start with)
6) Take 13mm socket + impact gun and remove bolts for one strap
7) Put new strap in place and start the bolt into the fixed end (non rotatable) of the strap 2-3 threads and leave loose
8) Put in bolt in non-fixed end, you may require some additional pressing / flexing of the strap to get it into place, now tighten this side fully before moving back to non fixed end.
9) Tighten fixed end
10) repeat for other side of tank

The bolts came out easily with the air impact gun and they did not sheer or damage any threads which was a plus. I know this thread is worthless without pictures.

Tank straps direct from Tousley:


Tank straps primed baking in front of the heater:


Stock fronts trap broken:


Stock rear strap unbroken:


Close up or broken strap:


Stock front strap:


Painted new straps:


New straps with plastic:


Comparison front straps:


Comparison rear straps:


New straps installed:


Chemicals and salt are such a horrible idea but here in Pennsylvania thanks to the general population the state at the tax payers expense ruins our vehicles, roadways, and adds pollutants to the ground year after year. Not only do we have the privilege of paying for these chemicals, we get to pay for repairs and the after affects. If you have driven through PA, you know how wonderful the roads are here (this is tongue-n-cheek for those who haven't). I just wish we could get it through regulation to stop using chemicals and go back to only sanding roads with ice. I would much rather have our vehicles around year after year then have to deal with the effects of such harsh chemicals. Let's try to take accountability for our actions when driving in the snow instead of blaming the state for not salting or plowing. If the road is too dangerous, don't go. Some say that isn't an option, I disagree. Back when people were able to take responsibility for their actions people would find a way to get the job done without having their hand out or blaming someone for not doing something. We need to bring back to these roots and stop ruining our own society.

 

Excellent writeup and valid points about salting roads. Looks like painting/oiling your truck frame should be the next step.

 

your frame looks horrible, but i also agree with the salt issues these northern states are using. Especially this nice liquid s%it that destroys everything metal on your truck!

 

I plan to oil the underside of the truck down this year as sad as that is, hopefully it will slow the process down. Of the vehicles we have three have been exposed to winters here have the same problem. I wish this was a case of neglect, but I wash our vehicles undersides with warm water and a pressure washer at least twice a month in the winter to try to remove the corrosion.

 

last year Ford did a recall on my 2000 f150 in which I took it to the dealer and they replaced the tank straps free off charge.

 

Great write up Dale. Thanks for doing that. I have to drop my tank to find out why I run out of fuel when the gauge is half way between 1/4 and E and your information will be helpful.

We don't have much of a problem here in West TN with chemicals on the road (only snows 2 or 3 times per year here), but I have seen what happens to oil pans on E-350's after a few years of use in Ohio (I bought a 7.3 engine from a guy in Columbus a few years ago and the pan was nearly eaten thru from the road salts. He said he had the pan replaced twice before in the 10 years he had owned the van.

Ridiculous!!!

My pet peeve is Ethanol in fuel. The politicians are involved with legislating the addition of this crap in our gasoline and I'm afraid we will never be able to be free of it.

It ruins our fuel lines and rubber parts in lawn equipment and motorcycles and we get worse gas mileage as an added extra!!!

Excuse me for being political, but a major part of this problem is the liberals on Washington DC and the EPA which has served its purpose and should be dissolved!!!

Rant OFF.

Tom

 

question whats that white plastic thing hanging out from under the strap? my truck has the same thing, and i have tugged on it but its in there pretty good. i haven't had the ambition to go take the strap loose and yank it out.

 

For the paint I'd recommend a 2 part epoxy paint like Imron or, HD equipment or farm implement paint. Epoxy paint is what's used on most heavy class 7 & 8 OTR trucks. That's about the only stuff that has a shot at surviving for any length of time. Used Imron on my 7.3's oil pan about 3yrs ago - still looks like I just painted it.

We don't get a ton of snow down here but when we do they waaaaaaaaay over treat the roads. I read an article a while back about the new "liquid salt" that the DOT uses to "pre treat" the roads prior to snowfall - might as well call this stuff "liquid rust". Capillary action draws it into all the nooks & crannies in your vehicle where it stays. It'll dry up and then just a little moisture reactivates it - really no way to totally neutralize it other than to just keep washing.

 

Tom:
I totally agree, we should not be using food sources to power our vehicles. Especially corn based ethanol, corn can be destructive to the land and rob it of nutrients without proper crop rotation. I also agree with the fact that it ruins the rubber of older cars fuel systems which were not made for that percentage of alcohol in the fuel. Don't forget the fact that it is a moisture absorber, so sitting in your tank longer allows it to collect more moisture and ruin your fuel system. I know plenty lawn mowers that had fuel issues sitting over the winter and needed to be cleaned because of ethanol. I hate running it in my vehicles, not only is it worse (BTU / BTU) but it takes more energy to make gallon per gallon. Not only that but us as tax payers are shelling out cash for subsidies to produce it! Big government has got to go, and let free market come back into the equation. A business that produces a tradeable good will make money.

I have tried spraying some rust converter on a few spots in the frame to see what happened, but it doesn't seem to be cutting the muster so to speak. I know there are other chemical treatments that you can brush on for rust converter but I was hoping not to have to dedicate a weekend to complete it.

Dagren99:
They use a ton of that liquid salt, and I agree 10 times over that stuff is the worst. A friend had some on his winter tires and wasn't able to fully rinse it off. The next year it was still there and the tires felt very sticky when we went to re-install. I hate that stuff with a passion, and it should be outlawed with the rest of the chemical treatments. Once sprayed on your vehicle (after driving over it) it is very difficult to remove because it is so concentrated.

Old Black Cat:
I have no idea what that is other than a spacer, both straps have them, the front one was still there and not cut, the rear one was cut so I cut the other side off and removed it. It had a ford part number, I was almost curious as to what they were but never looked it up. My personal guess is they are handles for line workers to grab the tank with and put into place. They have a recessed pocket for each end of the plastic strap where it connects to the actual fuel tank, similar to a push pin for a fender liner. If anyone knows what these are, I would be interested to know too.

 

Subscribing, great write up!...i agree the salt sucks ive done so much rust repair..